Thomas County cat. [volume] (Colby, Kan.) 1885-1891, 1887-10-06
But you will naturally ask where toe
DOOR victim "a all this time. Why! in

But YOU will naturally ask where the
poor victim Is all this time. Why! in
the next room, of course, where every
word uttered by her lover falls like
sweet music on her ears. She under
stands her mothers tactics, and yet it
must be with trembling heart that she
awaits the sealing of her fate.
All preliminaries arranged between
mother and lover, the daughter is
called into the room to receive the
parental blessing. instead of which she
kneels to her mother, praying not be
taken from her. She describes the
beauty of her virgin life, and declares
she has no wish to change it, prefers
her freedom to all else, and begs that
her mother will not make for her the
hated red petticoat, which constitutes
the principal portion of the wardrobe
of every peasant bride. The daughter
pleads, the mother caresses. and seeks
to persuade her to accept the lover, to
whom but 4 short time before she re-
fused to give her. The mother, while
gently stroking the glossy hair of her
child. tries to persuade her that after all
virgin life is not the most desirable;
that God has placed her in this world
with mission which she must seek to
fulfill; that she can not always remain
at her mothers side; she must 90 out
from the parent roof and make home
for herself. Ali these things and many
more are said in vindication of the life
apparently forced upon her. The
mother concludes by repeating to the
daughter all the lover has told her of
his bright hopes for the future, and the
sacrifices he Is willing to make for her
happiness. The daughter finally yields
under such persuasive words, and who
would not unless it were a heart of adj
amant?
The young people then kneel to re-
ceive the parental blessing, which is
given with a great deal of ceremony.
Then the priest is called upon to be-
stow his blessing, which is very beauti-
full and impressive. At its conclusion
he places ring on the hand of each.
This ceremony is called obrseechiny,
and is considered even more sacred
than marriage itself. The parents Of
the engaged girl arrange long tables,
on which they place the samovcr and
summon the neighbors to share in
their rejoicing. The girl prepares tea,
the first cup of which she hands to her
accepted lover, then to her father and
mother and lastly to each of tie
guests. This duty performed, she APP
pears to lose all bashfulness, and she,
who but short while before bewailed
her fate so loudly. now accepts and
even glories in the choice she has
made. To the world she is oblivious,
and thinks of none but her lover. upon
whom she lavishes all the love of her
young heart, showing by every endear-
ing term and caress how great is her
worship for her hero. This change in
the girls manner is not noticed by
parents or uests, who continue their
tea-drinking and gossiping.
These engagement ceremonies are
possessed of weird and impressive
grandeur, which no pen can describe
in their realistic beauty.
The pretty bit of hypocrisy practiced
both by mother and daughter-the one
unwilling to give up her child, the
other to leave her home-is 4 custom
handed down from generation to gen.
GRAFTON. and though insincere, is full!
of beauty and pathos. The custom il
purely Slavonic, and is accepted only
by merchants and peasants. The GUS
toms of the nobility are entirely differ.
ent from those adopted by the middle
and lower classes.
Now that the engagement has been
entered into, we will follow our young
people through its devious windings.
They are now free to make their own
arrangements in regard to the mar
riagc, when and where it shall take
place. and who will be the guests.
They visit and receive friends, and are
considered almost the same as married,
and have altogether a very pleasant
time.-The Countess NorrdikOaU, in N.
Y. Star.